Philosophy and Architecture in Relation to the Past and Towards the Future

elective seminars
general courses

The seminar is addressed to people who are interested in researching the relationships between contemporary philosophy and architecture in the context of dialogue with architectural tradition, reflections on ways to commemorate the past through the architecture medium and contemporary changes in the interpretation of architectural design process.

The condition of admission to the seminar group is keen interest in the proposed issues, proficiency in reading contemporary philosophical texts and orientation in contemporary architecture.

Classroom

The connections between philosophy and architecture will be analysed in three contexts :

- dialogue with tradition which had been taken up by the architects of the second half of XX century on the wave of criticism of modernism and postmodern exploration of the similarity of architecture to language.

-discussion in the area of contemporary philosophy about the boundaries of representation and architectural ways of commemoration (P. Eisenman, D. Liebeskind)

-a contemporary change in the interpretation of architectural design consisting of recognition of its dynamic, network dimension and diversity of forces in the process of creating forms.

The connections between philosophy and architecture will be analysed in three contexts :

- dialogue with tradition which had been taken up by the architects of the second half of XX century on the wave of criticism of modernism and postmodern exploration of the similarity of architecture to language.

-discussion in the area of contemporary philosophy about the boundaries of representation and architectural ways of commemoration (P. Eisenman, D. Liebeskind)

-a contemporary change in the interpretation of architectural design consisting of recognition of its dynamic, network dimension and diversity of forces in the process of creating forms.

The first context will concern postmodernism in architecture; critical analyses will focus on the ways in which architects i.e. R. Venturi, Ch. Moore, J. Stirling, M. Graves, P. Eisenmann, H. Hollein, F. Gehry) referred to tradition by entering buildings in the historical context, enriching their facades and interiors with recognizable meaning codes, but also breaking the rules of architectural syntax, exposing fragmentations, discontinuity and expressing the kind of fascination with the multi-valence of meanings and the modifiability of the principle of architectural art. We will discuss: eclecticism, quotation, return to symbol, narrative, motivations behind the provocations of postmodern architects.

The second part of the class will be devoted to problems related to architecture commemorating the tragic events of the past. The philosophical background for reflection on building designer by P. Eisenmann or D. Liebeskind will be:

-Derridian interpretations of the category of trace, pharmacone and deconstruction (effectiveness/ efficiency) of the archive,

- Ankersmith’s criticism of narrative in postmodern forms of commemoration and his proposal of methonimic, historical experience,

-valorisation of aisthesis in contemporary architectural discourse (S. Holl, J. Palasmaa) aimed at stimulating „work of memory”.

The topic of research in the third part of the seminar work will be the focus of the design activities of contemporary architects on the future. We will discuss the dialogic, network and collective dimensions of design (for example in R. Koolhas’ projects). We will analyse the use of new technologies to animate the architectural form in Gregg Lynn experiments. We will take into consideration the importance of the categories: brevitas, flexibilitas, humilitas in ephemeral and folding architecture and the use of natural or technological materials in the process of building. The philosophical basis for reflecting on these issues will be provided by fragments of G. Deleuze’s, B. Latour’s and T. Ingolds’s books.

B. Latour, Ostukując architekturę Koolhaasa laseczką ślepca, trans. A Leśniak „Architektura- Murator”, nr 1; A Yanewa , B. Latour, Give me a Gun and I wll will make All the Building Move, An ANT Viev ofArchitecture in: Explanations in Architecture. Teaching, Design, Research, ed. G. Redo, Basel, 2008; W. Welsch, Nasza postmodernistyczna moderna, trans.. R. Kubicki, A. Zeidler-Janiszewska, Oficyna Naukowa,Warszawa, 1998, p. 28-35 i 121-183; Ch. Jencks, Architektura postmodernistyczna, Warszawa 1987; M. Borowska , Estetyka i poszukiwanie znaczeń w przestrzeniach architektonicznych, „Semper”, Warszawa, 2013; Ch. Jenks, K. Kopf, Teorie i manifesty architektury współczesnej, Warszawa, 2013, trans. D. Szymczak, Warszawa, 2013; J. Derrida, Gorączka archiwum. Impresja Freudowska, trans. J. „Momro”, Warszawa 2016; J. Lubiak, O nowy kształt pamięci. Muzeum Żydowskie w Berlinie, w: Pamięć Shoah. Kulturowe reprezentacje i praktyki upamiętniania, ed. T. Majewski, A. Zeidler-Janiszewska , Łódź, 2009, str. 619-627; R. Venturi, D. Scott Brown, S. Izenour, Uczyć się od Las Vegas. Zapomniana symbolika formy architektonicznej, Kraków 2013; T. Pękala, Estetyczne doświadczenia przeszłości, Wyd. UMSC, Lublin, 2013; F. Ankersmit, Narracja, reprezentacja, doświadczenie. Studia z teorii historiografii, trans.. E Domańska, „Universitas”, Kraków, 2004, str. 388 –426.; J. K. Lenartowicz, Architektura trwogi, w: Pamięć Shoah. Kulturowe reprezentacje i praktyki upamiętniania, ed. T. Majewski, A. Zeidler-Janiszewska , Łódź, 2009, str. 609-615; J . Pallasmaa, Oczy skóry, Architektura i zmysły, „Instytut Architektury”, Kraków, 2012.; J. Derrida, Pismo filozofii, Kraków, 1993, str. 34, 43-69; C. Wąs, Architektura, a dekonstrukcja. Przypadek Petera Eisenmana i Bernarda Tschumiego, „Wydawnictwo. IHS UW”, Wrocław, 2015; tegoż:W stronę dekonstrukcji w architekturze, „Quart” , nr 3, 17, 2010, G. Deleuze, Fałda. Leibniz a barok, trans.. M. Janik, S. Królak, Warszawa: PWN, 2014; B . Stec, Uwagi o fałdowaniu w architekturze współczesnej, [w:] „Przestrzeń, filozofia i architektura”, red. E. Rewers, Poznań: Fundacja Humaniora, 1999, p. 35 –57: B. Stec, Fałda , w: „Autoportret”, 4 [55] 2016; R. de Graff, Cztery ściany i dach. Złożona natura prostej profesji, Warszawa, 2019; T. Ingold, Splatać otwarty świat, trans.. E. Klekot, „Instytut Architektury”, Kraków, 2018, G Lynn, Animate Form, „Princeton Architectural Press”, New York, 1999; G. Lynn, Architectural Curvilinearity: the Folded , the Pliantand the Supple , w: „Folding in Architecture”, Chichester, 2004.

Acquired knowledge:

the graduate knows and understands

- to a greater extent – research methods and argumentative strategies of selected philosophical disciplines and methods of interpretation of philosophical text

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-selected directions and development positions of modern philosophy within one block of main philosophical disciplines; in this case: 3) aesthetics, philosophy of culture, history of philosophy

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-to a greater extent – the relationship between the formation of philosophical ideas and changes in culture and society; understands the fundamental role that philosophical ideas play in the creation of cultural works and institutions

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Acquired skills:

the graduate is able to:

-independently interpret a philosophical text, creatively and innovatively comment and confront theses derived from various texts

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-find relationships between the shaping of philosophical ideas and cultural processes, and determine the relationships between these interdependencies

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Acquired social competences:

the graduate is ready to:

- actively participate in social and cultural life; is interested in innovative and cultural life; is interested in innovative philosophical concepts in connection with other parts of cultural, artistic and social life and encourages the implementation of these concepts

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The basis for the final grade will be:

- student's participation during classes (the level of knowledge of texts, the ability to critically evaluate the issues raised in them, the ability of using arguments during the discussion;

2) the undertaking of additional work consisting of preparation of at least one (during the semester) paper or presentation expanding the issues raised in the texts and discussed in the classes (including the illustrative material selected individually). This presentation will be evaluated.

If the student does not meet one of the above-mentioned criteria, it is anticipated that the student will be obligated to pass the final seminar or write a thesis.

Permissible number of absences: 2 in a semester